Methane fluxes from tree stems and soils along a habitat gradient

Pitz, S.; Megonigal, J. Patrick; Chang, Chih-Han; Szlávecz, Katalin

doi:10.1007/s10533-017-0400-3

Cited by 68 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…2–28 times higher than fluxes from living trees from tropical peatland (Pangala et al ., ), three to four times higher than mature trees of temperate peatland in the UK (Pangala et al ., ), 0.5–5.8 times that of temperate floodplain trees in Japan (Terazawa et al ., , ), but were similar to temperate floodplain living trees described in Pitz et al . () (Fig. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Furthermore, there is no consensus for the biophysical mechanisms transporting CH 4 along the soil–tree–atmosphere continuum (Barba et al ., ), with debate continuing as to whether trees: act as passive pipes (diffusion) connecting the rhizosphere to the atmosphere; participate as active pipes (via xylem flow); or produce CH 4 internally in the heartwood (Covey et al ., ; Barba et al ., ). Tree species, tree size, ecological adaptations, seasonality and hydrogeophysical context all likely play a role in the production and pathways of tree stem CH 4 flux (Keppler et al ., ; McLeod et al ., ; Pangala et al ., ; Pitz et al ., ). As an estimated 3.04 trillion trees exist globally (Crowther et al ., ), with c .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Furthermore, there is no consensus for the biophysical mechanisms transporting CH 4 along the soil-tree-atmosphere continuum (Barba et al, 2019a), with debate continuing as to whether trees: act as passive pipes (diffusion) connecting the rhizosphere to the atmosphere; participate as active pipes (via xylem flow); or produce CH 4 internally in the heartwood (Covey et al, 2012;Barba et al, 2019b). Tree species, tree size, ecological adaptations, seasonality and hydrogeophysical context all likely play a role in the production and pathways of tree stem CH 4 flux (Keppler et al, 2006;McLeod et al, 2008;Pangala et al, 2017;Pitz et al, 2018). As an estimated 3.04 trillion trees exist globally (Crowther et al, 2015), with c. 43% living in (sub) tropical forests (a region accounting for two-thirds of all natural CH 4 emissions), there is a growing consensus that tree-mediated CH 4 fluxes need to be quantified and considered in processbased models and global CH 4 budgets (Carmichael et al, 2014;Saunois et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Are methane emissions from mangrove stems a cryptic carbon loss pathway? Insights from a catastrophic forest mortality

et al. 2019

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Summary Growing evidence indicates that tree‐stem methane (CH4) emissions may be an important and unaccounted‐for component of local, regional and global carbon (C) budgets. Studies to date have focused on upland and freshwater swamp‐forests; however, no data on tree‐stem fluxes from estuarine species currently exist. Here we provide the first‐ever mangrove tree‐stem CH4 flux measurements from >50 trees (n = 230 measurements), in both standing dead and living forest, from a region suffering a recent large‐scale climate‐driven dieback event (Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia). Average CH4 emissions from standing dead mangrove tree‐stems was 249.2 ± 41.0 μmol m−2 d−1 and was eight‐fold higher than from living mangrove tree‐stems (37.5 ± 5.8 μmol m−2 d−1). The average CH4 flux from tree‐stem bases (c. 10 cm aboveground) was 1071.1 ± 210.4 and 96.8 ± 27.7 μmol m−2 d−1 from dead and living stands respectively. Sediment CH4 fluxes and redox potentials did not differ significantly between living and dead stands. Our results suggest both dead and living tree‐stems act as CH4 conduits to the atmosphere, bypassing potential sedimentary oxidation processes. Although large uncertainties exist when upscaling data from small‐scale temporal measurements, we estimated that dead mangrove tree‐stem emissions may account for c. 26% of the net ecosystem CH4 flux.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Are methane emissions from mangrove stems a cryptic carbon loss pathway? Insights from a catastrophic forest mortality

et al. 2019

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“…Roots can similarly mediate the transport of below-ground N 2 O to tree stems (Machacova et al, 2016;Pihlatie et al, 2005;Wen et al, 2017). Although plant adaptations for increased O 2 diffusion in anoxic or water-logged environments (such as aerenchyma and lenticels) can facilitate root-mediated transport of soil-produced GHGs (Pangala et al, 2013), this pathway has also been found in plants without these structures (Barba, Poyatos, & Vargas, 2019;Machacova et al, 2016;Pitz & Megonigal, 2017;Pitz et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Methane emissions have additionally been documented from a mangrove in a tropical saline estuary (Purvaja et al, 2004). It was later recognized that trees living in well-drained, upland habitats also emit (Pitz et al, 2018;Wang et al, 2016;Warner et al, 2017;Wen et al, 2017) or contain elevated concentrations of (Covey et al, 2012;Megonigal & Guenther, 2008) these GHGs. Deadwood (including standing dead trees and logs) in wetlands (Carmichael & Smith, 2016) and upland forests (Warner et al, 2017) are also sources of these GHG emissions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal Gradients in Tree Stem Greenhouse Gas Concentrations Across Six Pacific Northwest Coastal Forests

et al. 2019

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The aim of this study was to examine the magnitude of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in tree stems of Pacific Northwest, USA coastal forests and evaluate various tree and site characteristics along river‐to‐sea gradients as possible drivers of tree stem GHG variation. We measured the concentration of CH4, CO2, and N2O during summer and winter in live and dead tree stems of five species from six coastal watersheds and related this to soil porewater GHG concentrations, porewater salinity, and tree characteristics. Overall, average pCO2 and pCH4 were elevated above atmospheric concentration, and average pN2O was slightly below atmospheric concentration. Stem pCO2 was higher in the summer than the winter and was higher in angiosperm trees compared to gymnosperm trees, whereas pCH4 was significantly higher in fresh upstream compared to salt‐influenced reaches. Stem pCH4 was also positively correlated with porewater pCH4 in contrast to other GHGs. The above results suggest that tree stem pCH4 in these coastal settings was primarily controlled by soil linkages, pCO2 was primarily regulated by tree physiology, and factors controlling pN2O remain unclear.

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Short‐lived peaks of stem methane emissions from mature black alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.) – Irrelevant for ecosystem methane budgets?

Köhn

Günther

Schwabe

et al. 2020

Plant Enviro Interactions

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Tree stems can be a source of the greenhouse gas methane (CH4). However, assessments of the global importance of stem CH4 emissions are complicated by a lack of research and high variability between individual ecosystems. Here, we determined the contribution of emissions from stems of mature black alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.) to overall CH4 exchange in two temperate peatlands. We measured emissions from stems and soils using closed chambers in a drained and an undrained alder forest over 2 years. Furthermore, we studied the importance of alder leaves as substrate for methanogenesis in an incubation experiment. Stem CH4 emissions were short‐lived and occurred only during times of inundation at the undrained site. The drained site did not show stem emissions and the soil acted as a small CH4 sink. The contribution of stem emissions to the overall CH4 budget was below 0.3% in both sites. Our results show that mature black alder can be an intermittent source of CH4 to the atmosphere. However, the low share of stem CH4 emissions in both investigated stands indicates that this pathway may be of minor relative importance in temperate peatlands, yet strongly depend on the hydrologic regime.

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Methane fluxes from tree stems and soils along a habitat gradient

Cited by 68 publications

References 47 publications

Are methane emissions from mangrove stems a cryptic carbon loss pathway? Insights from a catastrophic forest mortality

Are methane emissions from mangrove stems a cryptic carbon loss pathway? Insights from a catastrophic forest mortality

Longitudinal Gradients in Tree Stem Greenhouse Gas Concentrations Across Six Pacific Northwest Coastal Forests

Short‐lived peaks of stem methane emissions from mature black alder (Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn.) – Irrelevant for ecosystem methane budgets?

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